The Night Before Christmas
by Xhibit B
Summary: AU. Heiress!verse. A continuation of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". Ichigo and Orihime contemplate their upcoming child.


**The Night Before Christmas**

**By: Xhibit B**

**Part of the** _Holiday Crack and Mistletoe 2019 Updating Event_

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.i do not own bleach.

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"I can't believe you're having a baby, Orihime," Rukia gushed as she leaned in to press her hand gently against the auburn-haired woman's stomach. "Minako kicks off the start of the Mommy Club and Orihime was the first to follow in her footsteps." She quieted for only a moment, turning her head to glance at her husband, "I want one too, Renji. Our friends are starting to have babies, we should have babies too."

"Don't you think it's a little early to be talking about something like that, Rukia," Renji asked, holding his hands up in surrender to his wife. "Orihime _just_ told her husband that she's pregnant, we should maybe wait until after the news has settled for them to start discussing this. Especially in front of everyone."

Laughter was heard from everyone in the room, the group of friends amused by the Abarai couple. Their back and forth spats had always been amusing, even when they were younger. High School had been a riot with the two of them around, always bickering but loving each other more and more every day no matter what they went through. No one missed the warning look that Rangiku gave Gin, essentially telling him to not even think about asking her for a child. He was quick to turn his head away from her stare. Perhaps he'd be the only one out of their ragtag group of friends that would never get to experience fatherhood. Honestly, he envied Byakuya and Ichigo because of it.

"Well, now that everyone has opened their one gift, I'm gonna go ahead and get ready for bed," Minako said, yawning softly as she rubbed her eye with the back of her hand. "I don't know if it's the pregnancy or if I'm really just that tired… but I need to get some sleep. I'll see you all in the morning. We can finish opening gifts before breakfast. I'm sure that will make a certain someone happy to not have to wait."

"Ya damn right," Grimmjow chuckled. "I have a few surprises for my wife anyway, and I want to see her reaction as soon as humanly possible."

Minako didn't respond, simply rolling her eyes before she pushed herself off the couch carefully. Byakuya was quick to follow his waddling wife out of the room with his hand on the small of her back to support her; leaving the other couples to do what they pleased. The attention quickly returned to Ichigo and Orihime; eager to get information out of them.

"So…," Rukia said sliding closer to the couple. "What are you hoping for, a boy or a girl?"

"How far along are you, Orihime, and when did you find out," Rangiku asked next. "I need to know so I can start planning for my little niece or nephew whenever they get here."

"To answer the second and third questions, I'm ten weeks pregnant. I found out about the pregnancy two weeks ago when I went to the hospital for a visit because I wasn't feeling well," Orihime answered. "And Rukia, to answer your question, I want a little boy. He'll be handsome, just like his father. But a little girl with adorable, pudgy cheeks would be wonderful too. We could have girls days, get our hair and nails done together and go shopping every now and again. Especially when Ichigo is busy."

"How about you Kurosaki," Grimmjow asked, lazily glancing at the orange hair as he allowed his head to rest in his wife's lap. He almost purred when he felt her fingers gently strum through the quiff strands of electric blue tresses. "Ya want a girl or a boy?"

"A boy would be great, but I'd be happy with a little girl, too," Ichigo answered as he allowed his arm to rest across Orihime's shoulder. "Especially if she's as beautiful as my wife is."

"Aw, you two are so mushy, I think I'm gonna hurl," Grimmjow said rolling his eyes before rolled onto his feet; reaching a hand back for Nelliel to take. She did before he pulled her to her feet and moved to head to their room. "Welp, guess we'd better hit the sack too. 'specially since Mina promised we can open gifts first thing in the morning. This is a little too much excitement for me."

Nelliel rolled her eyes as he pulled her behind him, glancing over her shoulder. "I married a man-child. Goodnight you guys, see you all in the morning."

They could hear laughter behind them as they ascended the stairs that led to the bedrooms. Rangiku and Gin were the next ones to follow their lead; Rukia and Renji right behind them. When everyone was out of the living room; Ichigo turned to glance at his wife. The grin on his face was wide as he leaned forward, his palm resting against his wife's stomach over her cream coloured sweater. Orihime couldn't help the smile that crossed her features as she watched him whisper something to her stomach that she couldn't quite hear. Her fingers found their way into his hair, stroking it softly as she smiled down at him. He was very excited about becoming a father; just as excited as she was about becoming a mother.

It was a few minutes later that Ichigo pulled away from his one-sided conversation with their child and glanced up at her again. He pressed a kiss to her lips before taking her hand and standing from the couch. He pulled her up carefully before leading her upstairs to their bedroom; switching off the lights as they left. They took turns showering; dawning matching Christmas pyjamas before snuggling into the welcoming warmth the bedspread provided to them.

They could hear the heater coming to life, letting them know that either Byakuya or Minako had gotten up to turn it on for the evening. It got rather cold in the mountains that time of year. It was more likely to be Minako than Byakuya, she got cold quite easily; something they discovered in the early years of their friendship. It had gotten worse with her being pregnant. Orihime honestly wondered if she would be the same way the further she got into her pregnancy.

Ichigo glanced down at the auburn-haired woman that rest at his side; her head nestled in the crook of his arm. She looked deep in thought as he pressed a kiss to her forehead before smiling at her. "I still can't believe that you're pregnant, Hime. I've always wanted a family and I couldn't think of a more perfect woman to start one with."

"I'm glad that you're not angry about it," Orihime confided in him. "I was a little concerned about it before because it's so early into our marriage. We haven't even been married three whole years yet. But then Minako sat me down and told me about myself in that strange, calming way of hers; even when she's being super brash."

Ichigo chuckled, pressing his lips against the crown of her head. His wife was absolutely adorable when she wanted to be. He knew all too well how much she worries herself and she'd probably been so scared to tell him before then that she was pregnant. Especially if she'd known for about two or so weeks. He was thankful to their small, raven haired friend for setting her straight. She should never be scared to tell him about such amazing news. Sure, he would have preferred to wait just a bit longer before they welcomed a child into their lives. He'd wanted to enjoy marital bliss for just a bit longer before they added a spawn of their love to the mix. But then again, everything happened for a reason. There was a reason that Orihime had gotten pregnant when she did. The world had deemed them ready for a little one and he wasn't going to argue with that.

"That's just Minako," he finally said after a few long minutes of silence. "I mean, look who she's married to. Some things were bound to rub off on her. She's always been a blunt person since we met her. Byakuya just made that worse. But that's why we love her."

"I couldn't agree with you more," Orihime giggled softly, ashen hues glancing up at the clock. The time flashed 12:00 am in bright, green lettering and she smiled. "Merry Christmas, Ichigo."

The orange hair glanced up at the clock as well, noting the time. It was officially Christmas, now. He blew a soft breath before smiling as his lips were pressed upon the crown of her head once more. They'd need to get to sleep if they wanted to be well rested in the morning when Grimmjow inevitably came to wake everyone. Nel hadn't been lying when she said she'd married a man-child earlier that evening. He was more excited about Christmas than anyone else that Ichigo knew. Not even his younger sisters had been that excited in their early years. But he'd worry about that later. For now, he simply wrapped his arms around his wife's waist; pulling her closer to him. "Merry Christmas, Orihime."

It was only moments later that the gentle sounds of their even breathing filled the room; content in the knowledge that in thirty or so short weeks, they would be welcoming a child into their lives. It was truly a Christmas to remember for the Kurosaki's.


End file.
